TIMELINES

INCIDENTS IN WEST AFRICAN REGION & OTHERS: JAN 2016-TILL DATE.

2016

Dec 18

2 female suicide bombers blow selves up before reaching target

The Punch reports that the incident was confirmed by the police public relations officer (PPRO) of the Borno police command, Victor Isuku. The police spokesperson said the suicide bombers were stopped at the outskirt of Maiduguri before they could carry out the act.The suicide bombers had targeted a checkpoint in the city, but failed to reach the point before the bombs went off injuring three bystanders.

The motive behind the murder of a Fulani Christian politician in Mali last month remains unknown, but locals suspect an Islamist agenda.Moussa Issah Bary, the 47-year-old deputy mayor of Kerana (near the Burkina Faso border), was shot dead by six unidentified men on motorbikes on 16 November. He is survived by a wife and eight children.

Dec 16

Jihadists launch coordinated assault in Burkina Faso

A military post in northern Burkina Faso close to the borders with Mali was the target of a coordinated assault early this morning. At least 11 Burkinabe soldiers and one gendarme were killed in the attack, which was attributed to jihadists. Reuters reported Friday’s attack about 19 miles from the Malian border began at around 5 a.m. local time and was carried out “by about 40 heavily armed individuals who have not yet been identified,” the army told them in a statement.

Dec 15

Borno locks down as soldiers fighting Boko Haram go on rampage

The soldiers are reported to be shooting sporadically in all direction in extreme protest against the way they are being treated by the senior officers of the Army. According to the report, the soldiers had complained of maltreatment and then "began to shoot indiscriminately, threatening to kill any officer who stands on their way.

Dec 14

Boko Haram kills Operation Lafiya Dole commander, aide in Borno

Suspected members of the Boko Haram sect on Monday laid an ambush between Sari and Gudumbali areas of Borno State, killing another Lieutenant Colonel, Otos Umusu, and his unnamed security aide while heading to their base in Baga.
Our correspondent learnt that Umusu, who was the Commanding Officer of the 118 Task Force Battalion, Operation Lafiya Dole, in Borno, and his aide were killed by an Improvised Explosive Device planted on the road.

Dec 13

Army rescues women, girls in Sambisa operation

The Nigerian army has continued its operation in Sambisa forest to rid it off the presence of Boko Haram terrorists resulting in the rescue of 605 women and children. The forest has been the stronghold of terrorists in the north east with Chibok girls reported to be hidden there.

Dec 12

Suspected Boko Haram members kill another Nigerian Lieutenant Colonel

According to the report, the officer is O. Umusu, a lieutenant colonel and commanding officer, 118 Task Force in Borno state. He was killed alongside his security details, by an IED in an ambush Monday evening, December 12. O.Umusu and his security details were returning from Maiduguri to their location towards Baga, when the incident happened between Sari and Gudumbali.

Dec 11

Two girls of just SEVEN blow themselves up in a suicide bomb attack at a market in Nigeria

Two seven-year-old girls have blown themselves up in a suicide bomb attack at a market in Nigeria.The explosions in the Maiduguri, which lies in the Boko Haram stronghold of Borno state, killed both the girls and one other person, while 18 were left injured. Boko Haram are believed to be behind the attack, but they are yet to claim responsibility.

Dec 09

Boko Haram twin bomb blast kills 10

Emerging reports suggest that a twin bomb blast has ripped through a market in Madagali town. Police say that about 10 people have been killed following the twin bomb attack. Madagali lies some 276 km from the Adamawa State capital, Yola.The town, which is close to neighbouring Borno State, was one of several others held by Boko Haram at the height of the group’s brutal insurgency.

Dec 07

Troops rescue 801 persons from terrorists in Borno

The Nigerian Army said on Wednesday that it had rescued additional 801 persons held hostage by the Boko Haram terrorists in its ongoing anti-terrorism operations. Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor, Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole in the North-East made the announcement while briefing newsmen in Maiduguri.

Dec 05

Algerian troops discover heavy arms on Malian border

Algerian Defense Ministry on Monday said its troops seized a load of war weapons on the borderline with Mali. "Part of anti-terrorism efforts and border security, vigilant army troops discovered on Monday a bunker full of arms and ammunition in the southern province of Adrar, near the Malian border," the ministry said. The troops retrieved 20 Kalashnikov machine-guns, 13 ammunition boxes and 516 bullets of different calibers, it said.

Dec 04

Army, air force and Boko Haram in fierce battle in Borno

Scores of Boko Haram fighters were killed during a fierce fight with soldiers of the 119 task force battalion.According to Premium Times sources, the figthing took place in the Kangarwa area of Borno state at about 4pm on Sunday.

Dec 03

Clashes between armed groups near the northern Malian city of Gao left at least one person dead

Clashes between armed groups near the northern Malian city of Gao left at least one person dead and a dozen injured, and the local airport was closed after being hit in a jihadist attack, sources said.Fighting erupted on Thursday between the towns of Tessit and Intillit among unidentified militias, an elected official who asked not to named said. The combatants were believed either to be aligned with the ex-rebel Azawad movement or with an ethnic Touareg group called Imghad or its pro-government ally, the official said.Debris is seen after an attack on UN offices at the airport in Gao, Mali, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Souleymane ag Anara

Dec 02

Fulani herdsmen attack Abia community, farmers injured

Fulani herdsmen have attacked Ozu Item in Bende council in Abia state forcing some people to flee.Vanguard reports that the attacks left some farmers with life-threatening injuries as crops worth several thousands of naira belonging were also destroyed by the herdsmen and their cattle.
Cattle herder Boubacar Demba and his children tend to their cattle in Guana, outside Bamako, Mali, November 5, 2016. REUTERS/Adama Diarra

Nov 30

AQIM claims two attacks in northern Mali

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has claimed two attacks that occurred yesterday which targeted the airports of Timbuktu and Gao in northern Mali. The jihadist group claimed a suicide attack in Gao, while a rocket barrage targeted a French base at the Timbuktu airport.In Gao, a suicide car bomb detonated at a checkpoint close to UN facilities at the airport. No one was killed in the blast, but nearby UN buildings were badly damaged. According to Reuters, the car bomb was able to make it past cDebris is seen after an attack on UN offices at the airport in Gao, Mali, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Souleymane ag Anaraheckpoints at the entrance of the airport.

Breaking News reported by the Jewish Breaking News Twitter account on 30 November, indicates that shots fired in N'Djamena, the capital city of #Chad in West Africa were aimed towards police guarding the US Embassy. Initial reports seemed to point at the motorcyclist being a suspected terrorist.

Nov 27

30 Boko Haram troops killed in ambush of Nigerian government convoy

Thirty suspected Boko Haram militants died when the Nigerian army repelled an ambush of traveling government members near Bama, a local official said."We were traveling from Pulka to Maiduguri when militants attacked our convoy with improvised explosive devices and sporadic gunshots, just after [passing the village of] Ngurosoye, but the troops repelled them, killing up to 30 of the terrorists," said Saeed Salisu, chairmen of the government of Gwoza, in northeastern Borno state.

Nov 25

2 youth vigilantes died in Boko Haram attack

Boko Haram terrorists engaged in a fire fight with members of a youth Vigilante group in Chibok local government area of Borno state leading to the death of many insurgent. Vanguard reports that the incident happened on Thursday, November 24 in Shawa village which is very close to Sambisa forest leading to the death of many terrorists.

Nov 24

Cameroon Police Thwart Two Female Bombers in North

Two female bombers were thwarted as they tried to stage a double suicide attack in Cameroon’s Far North Thursday, with one blowing herself up and the second shot dead by troops, security sources said. “At around 7:30 am (0630 GMT), two young suicide bombers entered the town of Mora” with the aim of blowing themselves up, but they were identified, a military official told AFP.

Nov 24

Number two of Mali Ansar Dine faction arrested

The number two of a faction of the Malian rebel group Ansar Dine operating in northern Mali was arrested Thursday, according to military and security sources.The man was being questioned over an ambush on November 20 in which five soldiers and one civilian were killed as they transported ballot boxes following voting in municipal elections near Timbuktu.

Nov 23

vehicle of cameroonian soldiers hit land mine

Eight Cameroonian soldiers were this afternoon wounded when their vehicle hit a land mine in Zamga, Far North Region of Cameroon.

Nov 23

N’Delta militants kill 4, injure others in attack on oil facility

Reuters quotes local sources and security officials as saying on Wednesday, November 23 that the attack occurred late on Monday, November 21 at an installation at Omoku, near Port Harcourt in River state.The gunmen were said to have stormed the facility dressed in military camouflages but when the NSCDC officials discovered that they were not soldiers, they engaged them in a gunfight.

Nov 21

Attacks kill 5 soldiers and a civilian in Mali during key vote

At least five Malian soldiers and a civilian were killed in separate attacks aimed at sabotaging Mali’s municipal elections, security forces said on Monday.The West African country went to the polls on Sunday in its first election since 2013. Voters are electing 12,000 councillors across Mali as the government wrestles with implementing a 2015 peace deal with militant groups. The nation has suffered from ongoing attacks by various armed groups despite a UN-led international military intervention.

Nov 21

Fulani herdsmen kill 3, abduct 10 in Abuja

Suspected Fulani herdsmen have attacked three villages in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, killing 3 persons and abducted no fewer than 10 persons with a week. According to Daily Sun, the herdsmen attacked Darka Village on Sunday, November 13 when a 28-year old man, Zakariyya Nuhu, was killed Six persons were kidnapped.

At least eleven Boko Haram fighters were killed Saturday as troops of Nigeria’s 103 battalion destroyed a market cum camp operated by the terrorist sect in northern Borno, people familiar with the matter have told PREMIUM TIMES.An unconfirmed number of terrorists were also wounded during the battle in Yale, about eight kilometres south of Bama and 12 kilometres south west of Dikwa, while arms, ammunition and other equipment were recovered, military insiders said.

On August 19, the United Nations warned that Nigeria's economic slowdown, compounded by Boko Haram attacks could mean 5.5 million people are in ... It further expressed concern that many of the persons affected by terrorist attack had been out of reach of humanitarian help for months or years.

Troops fighting Boko Haram insurgents in the North-east have been instructed to take the battle to the terrorist group without violation of human rights. Addressing the troops of the counter-insurgency operation in the North-east, the newly appointed Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Major ...